LATEST ADDITIONS

I sometimes lament how much technological know-how is required for a consumer to successfully navigate the world of high end audio. Why do we have to wade through all this engineering mumbo jumbo just to enjoy great sound?

Sometimes artists walk away from a final mix, heads shaking after a reluctant sign-off . . . This is essentially what British prog outfit Gentle Giant did with their 1973 LP In a Glass House.

I'm far too disorganized to have kept an accurate count, but I'm pretty sure that at this point in my life I have installed or adjusted well over 5000 phono cartridges. These days I work on three or four turntables in a typical week and have been doing that consistently for the last 40 years.

Drummer Cindy Blackman Santana sings along to music from Herbie Hancock, Davis, John Coltrane, Tony Williams, and Wayne Shorter to get her creative juices going. "I do that all the time!" she exclaimed. "It's like breathing to me. It's second nature."

I believe that every question has only one right answer. And that most of us are pretty challenged when it comes to knowing what it is. I know I am. To redeem myself, I've devoted my life to thinking up dumb questions.

Oscar Peterson was born in 1925. In late 2026, a set titled World Tour was released on the Mack Avenue/Two Lions label. It is advertised as "part of the continued celebration of Peterson's centennial." Consider this article a modest attempt to join the celebration.

Margaret Glaspy: I Am Both
ATO Records (auditioned as 24/192 FLAC). 2026. Joe Henry, prod.; Patrick Dillett, Thom Beemer, engs.; Chris Gehringer, mastering.